


Second Hand Smoke

by Rei (RoarOfTheEarth)



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - No Prophecy (Final Fantasy XV), Angst, Crime Families, Eventual Relationships, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Regis is actually a crime lord, Slow Burn, There are no daemons, There is no magic, mafia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-13
Updated: 2019-06-03
Packaged: 2020-03-04 20:19:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18819991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoarOfTheEarth/pseuds/Rei
Summary: For his sister, Nyx Ulric would do anything. Even join the largest crime family in Lucis. So when the leader is put in danger and Nyx almost sacrifices everything, what will he get in return?





	1. The Lengths One Goes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO UH, this is that secret thing I was working on and wanted to give you guys a sneak peek of. So here's your sneak peek, the first full chapter. lmao.
> 
> This is probably going to go _slow_. I'm plotting this one out carefully (I actually have a time line!) and I want to make sure I know where it's going to begin and end before I really start posting it. So updates to this will likely be... once a week? Maybe a little less than that? I'll have to see. I want to write a few chapters of it up before I actually start posting it BUT I wanted to see if it got any interest from the FFXV community (and the CorNyx community) before I really threw myself into it.
> 
> So, enjoy!

# Second Hand Smoke

# The Lengths One Goes

Nyx rolled his eyes at his best friend, Libertus Ostium, who continued to chide him over his latest offense to his sensibilities. But then he hadn’t asked Libertus to find him a date, and he sure as hell hadn’t been interested in the woman he’d shown up at the bar with a few hours ago. Nyx had excused himself and made a quick exit, Libertus finding him later at their shared apartment, sputtering angrily at him.

“Knock it off,” Nyx huffed as he folded his dress shirt, exchanging it for a t-shirt that would be more comfortable. “Besides, I’m not dragging anyone else into this life with us. I’m fine as I am.”

‘This life’, by which he meant the Mafia. The Lucian Mafia that was run by the Caelum Family. _His_ family. He and Libertus had moved from their small, remote home in the village of Galahd to the busy city of Insomnia hoping to make it big. ‘Big’ meant joining a family so they had money to send hom. His little sister needed food and books for school. Libertus’ sister, Crowe; was looking out for Selena since Nyx was the only family she had left. He and Lib had hated leaving them in the poverty stricken village, but a city like Insomnia that housed the main body of the Lucis Mafia was not the place for a mouthy nineteen-year-old or his thirteen-year-old sister. So Crowe and Selena had been forced to stay behind.

It wasn’t unusual though, for Galahdians to turn up in Insomnia as part of the mafia. Regis Caelum, the patriarch of the Caelum Family had even founded his growing army on that fact. ‘The Glaives’ they called them. A steadily growing group of men and women from all over Lucis, sworn to protect Caelum and his family.

‘The King’, they called Regis. A far better nickname than his predecessor, Mors Caelum. Mors had a lot of names associated with him. ‘The Mad’ had been the one that stuck. That was until his right-hand had committed murder-suicide, leaving Regis in charge.

Regis had set about reorganizing the family after that. Dissolving factions, creating new families under his own and ousting traitors. His goal was to end the war between the Lucis Mafia and its direct competitor to the west in Niflheim. If he could, it had yet to be seen, but he guided his family with a gentle tone and an iron fist, and was wholly loved for it amongst his people.

If Nyx remembered correctly, the two powers had been fighting for years but had seen most of its losses on their side under Mors. After his death and Regis’ subsequent takeover, things had started to turn in their favor.

Now there were two main families to the Lucis Mafia, Caelum of course was at the fore, but Regist had also promoted his most trusted advisor. Amicitia was now a powerful name in its own right, and the family patriarch, Clarus; still served as Regis’ right hand. Referred to as ‘The Shield’ a lot of times, Clarus was known for giving the Caelum Family a better image to the public. Literally shielding the citizens from the darker dealings of the mafia.

Aside from Regis and Clarus there were three other prominent names that popped up when talking about the Lucian Mafia. There was ‘The Prince’, Noctis Caelum, Regis’ heir. Gladiolus Amicitia, the heir to the Amicitia Family, and ‘The Immortal’, a loyal assassin to Regis. Apparently he’d earned the nickname after infiltrating Niff territory and killing one of the generals. It honestly all sounded like bullshit to Nyx. How could one man sneak into the Niff’s headquarters in Gralea, take out a general and return unscathed?

Plus, no one knew what this ‘Immortal’ looked like. He was a legend at this point. A myth to scare off would be assassins.

As far as Nyx was aware, Niflheim’s Aldercapt Family only had one ‘General’ anymore, named Glauca. The other two generals fell under the Fleuret Family, lead by Ravus Nox Fleuret; Caligo Ulldor and Loqi Tummelt.

He rubbed his face, annoyed with how his brain decided to just ride through all the information that had been shoved into his skull since he and Libertus had joined the Family. Every now and then it was like his brain just decided to spout exposition at him, to remind him that his life really was like one of those TV dramas Lib liked to watch about criminals and hidden underground crime rings.

“Did you get a new assignment?” LIbertus asked, breaking him out of his thoughts. Looking over, he noticed the other man was holding some papers that had been addressed to him from Drautos, one of Regis’ trusted Commanders and the head of the Glaives. Nyx had managed to catch the man’s eye - a blessing or a curse, he wasn’t sure which - and was often assigned missions that put him with Drautos. They were on friendly terms, Nyx trusted the man, but it meant his workload was usually relatively high. According to Drautos, Nyx had ‘spunk’ and ‘attitude’. Which basically meant he was loyal, but mouthy, and maybe he fought a little dirty when fighting Niffs.

“Yeah, getting debriefed on it later tonight. Looks like a weapon’s deal.” A simple thing really. What bugged him a little was both Caelum and Amicitia patriarchs were going to be there. It really made no sense, but it was the agreement Regis had accepted. “The terms seemed kind of jacked, but..” Nyx trailed and shrugged his shoulders. If the deal was a good one, Nyx got a bonus, which meant he could send extra to Selena and Crowe this month. It was worth it.

* * *

He’d managed to grab a few hours of sleep before his meeting with Drautos. He’d pulled on the uniform they insisted the Glaives wear, tugging the leather armor bits of it in place and fixing the bits he’d attached to it to make it his own. The hood and it’s metal decorations were used to obscure their faces. While most Insomnian citizens could point out those who were in the Caelum Family just by looking at how they carried themselves, the Glaives were anonymous foot soldiers that weren’t meant to be known. They were supposed to be able to get in an get out, disappear and reappear. Die when they needed to die. Live when they needed to live. And shield ‘The King’. Always.

“There’s one-hundred and twelve including the one Regis owns, he already has several though I’m not sure how many,” Drautos was saying from where he leaned against his desk fiddling with a button on his uniform jacket that did not want to cooperate with him. Nyx sighed and walked over, shoving the older man’s hands out of the way and started fixing it for him because Titus was utterly useless when it came to his uniform. “There will be one-hundred and thirteen when Noctis comes of age and has his own made.”

“Swords,” Nyx murmured as he pushed the button through the correct hole and fixed the other’s on Drautos’ jacket. “Are a weird hobby.”

Titus snorted. “Not a hobby, boy. They are collecting the ones that have gone missing. They are highly sought after and coveted. He wants all of them back in his possession and he has almost all of them at this point…”

They called them the ‘Royal Arms’. Swords forged for each patriarch that had come before, though in an era of guns and weapons, blades were becoming more and more obsolete. Not that Nyx could say anything, he mostly used daggers and his favorite kukris. Niff soldiers were the ones that used guns mostly, though they were rather weak against blades, and while it gave them the advantage of range, the troops were usually extremely slow, walking at a jolting pace that made them rock because the mechanics to their robotic bodies were still in the early stages of being made.

It was said they used to use humans and attack metal bits to them to make their soldiers. Even worse, that those humans were Lucian people, captured by the Niffs, both civilian and family members. It made Nyx shiver a bit.

Niflheim had always seemed to hate Lucis. The ground was more fertile, the water cleaner. While Insomnia had flourished, Gralea had spun downwards into poverty. ‘The Emperor’, Iedolas Aldercapt ruled with violence and fear. His right hand was named Ardyn Izunia, a snide man who always smirked and laughed. There were rumors that he’d once been in line to be the heir of the Lucis Mafia, but Nyx wasn’t sure where he fell into the mix. It was all rather convoluted and complicated the more he thought about it. He came into the mix when Regis had started looking for the ‘Royal Arms’. Apparently he was trying to find and destroy the swords.

“You’ll have the case,” Drautos’ voice brought him back out of his thoughts. “You’ll be standing beside Caelum for the exchange. Just hand over the money and they’ll give him the case with the sword which he’ll check then we’ll leave. Should be an easy exchange. Cor and I will be a few steps behind with Amicitia.” He paused thoughtfully then grabbed Nyx by the shoulders, making the younger man jump. “If anything goes wrong,” he warned. “You step back. We can lose the money, we can lose the sword, but good soldiers are hard to replace.”

Nyx frowned, tilting his head. “If something goes wrong, Regis needs to be taken out of dangers way.”

“And he will,” Titus reassured. “Cor is Regis’ bodyguard. He’s fast, he’ll pull him out of there before anyone can blink an eye if he thinks there’s danger. Honestly it’s more dangerous that he’s even bloody _there_ , but they afforded Regis a body guard and one for Clarus as well. He’s using it to his advantage.”

Smart, Nyx supposed, though he wasn’t really all that sure who Cor was. He’d never seen the man but apparently he’d been with Caelum since he’d taken over, even a little before. “If you say so…” he grumbled and got a poke to his forehead for the doubt in his voice.

“I _know_ so. Don’t go doing any heroics today, Ulric. I’d hate to have to find Ostium and explain you died because you were stupid. I get enough of that man’s lip now anyway and let him get away with it. And if your sister is anything like you, I’d rather stand out in Leide in the middle of a lightning storm in full metal armor.

That made Nyx laugh. His little sister could be a hellion. “Yes sir.”

* * *

Things seemed off to Nyx still as he stood there, shuffling his feet slightly. He and Drautos were standing off to the side while the other three stood nearby, waiting patiently for their contact to meet them near the rest stop in Longwythe. Both of them had their hoods, the metal set down low over their eyes and masks drawn up over their noses, which Nyx used to his advantage to peer over towards the two patriarchs and the other man whom he assumed was Cor.

The man was tall, almost as tall as Clarus who was shockingly tall. Even Regis was shorter than his bodyguard. The crown of Nyx’s head would hit around his collarbone he supposed. Not that it was really all that impressive. Drautos still had him beat. Nyx’s head barely butted under the other man’s gods-damn armpit.

Tall-ass Lucians.

Which made him wonder if Regis was actually from Insomnia or somewhere else in Lucis. All the people living in Insomnia seemed to be impossibly tall.

The sound of a car engine caught their attention and Nyx moved carefully, striding towards Caelum and the others with Drautos on his heels. He’d met Regis before, even talked to him once, years ago. It made him a little giddy, being close to the patriarch like he was, but he kept it under wraps. Caelum just peered with those bright green eyes of his past the metal bits that covered his face and gave him a little crooked smile.

“Thanks.”

Nyx frowned, the motion hidden behind the cloth mask pulled over his nose. “For what, sir?”

Regis Caelum actually chuckled as he turned and looked back out across the road, waiting for the car to come into view. It put Nyx more or edge than he had been before, but he held the metal case with the money in it dutifully, watching as a black car with equally dark windows pulled around the curve and then slowed when its lights beamed across them. Nyx shifted, easing his stance slightly so that he could dip his head a little more and use his hood to cast shadows over his eyes.

Four men got out of the car, and by the way Caelum shifted and stood a little straighter, he didn’t know any of them. Nyx’s brain went on high alert.

“Gentlemen,” Regis greeted smoothly. “I was expecting someone else. You wouldn’t happen to know where he might be, would you?” That ‘someone else’ was named Dustin Ackers, a loyal man and good information broker.

One of the four men gathered there took a step closer, letting the others fall behind him. Nyx shifted himself so he was just a hint closer to Regis, but not enough that it would be noticeable. Behind him he could hear the others move, but kept his attention trained on the man straight ahead.

Something was off.

“We gave him some information about another one of your little swords,” the man stated simply, giving Regis a small smile. He held up a long case, unlatching the top so that the case swung open. Inside rested a thin sword, the hilt of it a tangle of intricate carvings. It was quite beautiful.

And completely wrong.

He’d seen the picture of the sword Regis was expecting. This was not it.

Several things happened at once then, and looking back on it Nyx would swear it took hours even though it happened within seconds.

There was a curse from somewhere behind him as his fingers slipped free of the handle on the money case and it hit the ground. In front of him, the man dropped something, a green looking canister that exploded into light and sound as it touched the ground. The sound of it made it feel like his eardrums exploded and Nyx wondered for a split second if it was his brains leaking out of his ears. The light that came from the canister was blinding, turning everything white, though his drawn down hood saved him a little, it didn’t help that it left an imprint of what he’d been looking at before his eyes. When he tried to glance to the side the image burned into his retina’s followed, leaving an after image everywhere. It was nauseating.

Nyx took a deliberate step to the left, his arm coming out and pushing against Regis’ chest and forcing him back a step even as his eyes burned and his ears bled, because no one had expected a stun grenade and he wasn’t about to let Regis die while being blinded by light and deafened by sound. His fingers curled around the kukri holstered at his thigh, tugging the blade free despite being blinded. He’d stab anything that came near, friend of foe and worry about the consequences later.

Something hit him in the chest, digging into the leather of his armor chest plate and stuck there while fingers curled into his shoulder, digging in bruisingly hard. His arm shot out and he felt the blade hit something, sink into it and the hand on his shoulder squeezed hard enough to make his bones creak under the pressure. Then the fucking thing that was digging into his chest plate detonated and electricity sparked across him like lightning through a cloud.

His vision tunneled while his blood boiled, the leather chest plate taking the brunt of the force but the current still zapped through him. His heart stuttered, and Nyx actually felt the damn thing _stop_ in his chest. His vision tunneled, wavering dark around the edges even as the burned image and white light faded.

The man that had been holding the fake sword was leaning towards him, Nyx’s kukri buried in his chest just under his sternum. His weight was dragging Nyx down, pulling him to the ground not that Nyx had the ability to move. His limbs were locked, muscles constricting against bone and his heart was trembling in his chest trying to decide if it wanted to continue to beat or give out.

He swayed, crumbling to the ground with the other man while his hand still clutched at the hilt of his blade, fingers flexing as another electrical shock pulsed through him. He had the distinct impression that he was in a lot of pain but his brain had fucked off and was thousands of miles away in Galahd, wondering what his sister would do now that he was dead.


	2. With the Sea

# Second Hand Smoke

# With the Sea

 _He would always love his baby sister_ , because she was his baby sister. No matter how old or how rude. No matter how big or how small. No matter how tall she got, how smart. He’d always love her, no matter what. 

The day the news reached them that their father had died, their mother had made him promise to watch over Selena. To provide and protect. He’d agreed even as he tried to hide unshed tears. He was the man of the house now. At twelve he became an adult. From child to man in a matter for seconds and a few sobbed words against the crown of his head. His job went from trying to learn as much at school as he could, to helping his mother raise his little sister.

She’d made him _promise_.

And then his mother had walked out to the sea and never came back.

He’d found her bracelet floating in the foam the next day, the leather strips stained by salt, but the beads his father had given her were still braided into it. He never took it off, and when asked by his five-year-old sister where their mother was, he simply told her she’d gone to ‘be with the sea’. It was easier than telling her another parent had died. She wouldn’t have understood by then anyway.

There were no bodies to bury, no ashes to scatter, nothing for him to actually mourn. Just memories and the bracelet he now wore. So Nyx had carefully carved their names into small stones and hurled them out into the sea. There was no meaning behind the gesture, no ritual that he followed. It just made him feel better.

Somewhere deep in his gut though, he felt something that hinged on anger. He wasn’t quite sure, but when he stared down at his little sister and saw his mother’s eyes staring back at him, part of him wanted to hate her. But he couldn’t. He’d always love her. So he stood by the sea, watching the waves reach foamy fingers up across the sand, and shiver when seaweed would slide across his feet. He’d stare out at that blue water and wonder why his mother had abandoned them when she was all they had. Was her path the right one? Should he simply follow her? Walk out into the sea and close his eyes?

Then Selena would call him from the shore and he’d turn around and go back. There were always tears in her eyes when he walked across the sand to greet her. Tears that never fell but glossed her eyes.

“Do you want to be with the sea?” she’d asked him once when he reached her on the sandy beach.

Nyx had thought about it then, staring down at that sad face with those deep blue eyes that stared back up at him, and realized he had no idea what he wanted.

“No.” It was the truth, if only because it wasn’t a lie.

Orphans weren’t an uncommon thing in Galahd. In fact, they were more common than not. The citizens lived in poverty, children often having to find jobs young. The problem was, there weren’t any jobs, none that paid enough for Nyx to get food for Selena much less himself. He fished when he couldn’t find work, but it meant scrapping with other street children for a good fishing spot, which often led to injuries he could ill afford. They didn’t have money for medical supplies, and what medicines they did have, he hoarded in case he ever needed them for Selena.

Libertus was his saving grace during those times. Though the other boy and his mother were poor as well, they at least tried to help. Some nights Libertus would come over with a few biscuits his mother had made. Oatcakes and honey on those rare occasions she had extra. When the inevitable happened and Selena fell ill, she came and showed him how to treat her fever and her chills. When the inevitable happened again, she showed Libertus how to splint his broken arm.

Every night, for years, Nyx would come home, take care of his sister until she fell asleep; then go sit out on the beach and stare out across the open water and ask his mother why she’d left. Each night, for years, Nyx found himself without an answer. Each night, he found himself growing more and more bitter and jaded with a world where hope was a fleeting dream. A wisp of smoke in a windstorm.

Work was hard to find, and for the first few years of their life alone, Nyx found himself stealing from those who could ill afford to be stolen from. But Selena needed food and villagers wouldn’t hire anyone younger than sixteen. The mortality rate of children had skyrocketed over the years. Exhaustion was the usual killer. Either because their bodies just gave out, or because it caused an unfortunate accident. But even as Galahd tried to put an end to the labor of children, those same children died from starvation, the weather conditions, or suicide.

“Will mama ever come home?” Selena asked him one night, her head pressed against his thigh. Tears streamed down her face as she hugged a filthy teddy bear, one their mother had given to her years ago. It had already been nearly four years, and on the cusp of sixteen, Nyx prayed he’d finally find work that would provide for them properly.

“No,” he told her, because she was nine now and needed to understand that their mother was dead. “We’re all each other has, we’re all each other needs.” When she finally fell asleep, Nyx had leaned back against the wall, thought about the sea and cursed his mother’s name.

* * *

They found a girl on the beach. They guessed she was around their age, a year or two younger perhaps, but she knew nothing of her name, who she was or who her parents were. Libertus’ mother assumed she must have fallen off a fishing boat since a storm had blown through the day before. There was no telling, and the girl couldn’t confirm or deny the theory. Around her wrist hung a bracelet with a small plate of iron attached to it. “Crowe” was the only thing it said.

“Like the bird?” Nyx had murmured, staring at the girl curiously. 

Libertus’ mother had laughed and let the girl cling to her skirts. “Come along, little bird,” she’d cooed. “Let’s get you clean and fed, yeah?”

After that Nyx took on more odd jobs than he usually would. Earning a little more food that he would leave in sacks outside of Libs’ house, knocking on the door and running away before anyone answered. Ms. Ostium had always worked hard and had helped feed Libertus, Selena and him. It was only right that he should help her feed Crowe in return.

He tried to help. He gave as much as he could, then tried to give a little more.

Two years after finding Crowe abandoned on the beach, Libertus’ mother breathed her last. Lib at least had a body to mourn and ashes to spread. Nyx still carved her name into a stone and tossed it out into the sea even as Libertus tossed her ashes into the air off a cliff and into the river, letting them be carried out to sea. Selena had clung to Crowe’s skirts, watching the dark cloud as it settled into the water, but she hadn’t cried.

“Maybe she’ll keep mama company,” she’d murmured, then turned away, leading Crowe back home by the hand.

He and Libertus had stood on the shore in silence until the sun started to set. Libertus staring out across the sea while Nyx stared up at the cloud strown sky as the colors started to bleed out of it into darkness. “We need a plan,” Libertus finally murmured. “We can’t stay here. We’ll die like everyone else.”

Nyx snorted in distaste. “What do you plan on doing? We can’t leave here. What about Selena and Crowe?”

“We could go to the Capitol,” Lib suggested. “Find work there that would pay us more. Send money home so the girls could live a little easier. I know others that have done it, others that are living better because of it.”

He’d chewed on the idea, digested it and thought it over some more. It was a plan, better than what they had here and now. But the girls would never let them leave them behind, and Insomnia was no place for two young girls on their own while he and Lib tried to find jobs. It was cruel, but safer for them to stay in Galahd. At least if they were here, he knew they were safe. “How are we going to convince them to stay behind, Lib?” The simple answer was to simply not give them a choice, but he knew his sister. He knew Crowe too. “They’ll never let us leave.”

“Let me talk to Crowe,” Lib murmured. “Maybe if I pull some strings, convince her to stay at least until Selena is old enough to come to the city…”

That would give them at least three years before the girls would try to come to Insomnia. Maybe six if they could stave them off. Maybe in those three to six years they’d have good jobs, make good money and be able to support the girls like they needed. It was a hope.

Hope was all they had anymore.

It took Libertus a week to convince Crowe to stay behind. She’d hissed and called him ugly names. She’d cursed him and Nyx for fools, called them idiots and told Lib they were abandoning them to the harshness of Galahd with no protection. Libertus promised if they couldn’t find work within the first month after they arrived in Insomnia, they would return and continue as they had before. It had settled Crowe. At least she knew they planned on coming back if things didn’t work out. Nyx felt the sting of abandonment as well, and hated to think his sister thought he was doing to her as their mother had. But she’d been too little, and she barely remembered their mother anymore. Only the faded pictures he’d put in a box and hidden away were reminders she’d ever even been in their lives.

Selena took the news surprisingly well. She cried, she made Nyx promise to write to her and to come home soon if they couldn’t find work. Then she’d gone to Crowe’s side and watched in silence as the two boys had packed what few belongings they had in burlap.

* * *

They hitchhiked when they could, but for the most part they found themselves walking. Few cars ventured out towards Galahd, the villages there too rough and ‘uncivilized’ for visitors from the mainland. They crossed the bridge that rose over the sea and struck off down the road. They had no real idea of where they were heading, stopping at an old gas station along the road to get directions. The man behind the counter had been kind enough to draw out the route on a road map he sold at the store, giving it to them after taking in their dust covered faces and dirty clothes. He’d also circled the safer places to camp at night, though he’d advised them to find wood to burn. Nyx had some of his dad’s old lighters stuffed in his bag, so as long as it didn’t rain, they’d be ok.

They got lucky the first night it rained on them. It didn’t start until they were passing an abandoned car. They too refuge inside of it, peering out of the busted windows as the rain cleaned the air and the ground. Now with the map and the landmarks listed on it, they were at least able to figure out how far they’d traveled.

Catching rides in cars was the best. It cut a lot of their travel time down, and the closer they got to their goal, the more cars they saw. With more cars, there were more people willing to let them catch a ride closer and closer to Insomnia until finally they stood at the checkpoint gates at the bridge, staring out along that long length of asphalt and metal.

Two weeks it had taken them to cross the mainland to Insomnia. Stepping onto the bridge was a victory for them both and for the first time since they’d set out, Nyx felt something akin to relief flow through him. The anxiety didn’t set in until they reached the other side of the bridge nearly an hour later. They used their worker IDs they’d been issued in Galahd to get through both checkpoints, not finding any resistance; though they did get a few odd looks.

Galahdians were seen as savage outside of their own community, Nyx already knew that. They were impoverished, lower class and considered by most to be uneducated. Nyx and Lib had made it through enough school to make by with most basic jobs; though fishing, hunting, farming, and hauling lumber didn’t really require the ability to read or do math. The jobs they’d taken on with Hunters hadn’t required such either, relying more on their abilities to work with weapons and be stealthy.

Nyx had been good at stealthy.

Now that they were in Insomnia, that would change.

Once through the gates, the boys found themselves a bit overwhelmed. Insomnia was of the likes they had never seen. Tall buildings made out of cement and rebar. Windows that reflected the sun back into their eyes. Manicured shrubs that lined the streets, cars bumper to bumper in the roads. The different smells burned their noses. Coffee, flowers, car exhaust. The smell of oil and gas, the noise from car engines and the sounds of horns blaring in the distance. Everything was so shiny, so new, so-

Nyx’s back hit someone and he stumbled, nearly falling. Catching himself before he folded to the ground, he turned quickly and apologized to the man he’d bumped into. There were two, the one he’d bumped into had a head topped with a crown of bright red hair. He looked pissed, even as Nyx held up his hands carefully to show he wasn’t a threat. “Sorry,” he said quickly, cringing slightly when the Lucian words fell from his mouth in that accent he and Libertus had been trying to bleed out of their voices since setting out.

The red-head sneered at him, the other man with him scoffing. “The fuck, they letting in more of you rats?” the other man asked, his blonde hair swept back out of his clean shaven face. The red-head rubbed the stubble along his, regarding both Nyx and Libertus with ill-hidden contempt.

“Think we should teach ‘em what it means to run into the Family, Lazarus?” the red-head jeered, showing off white teeth with canines that seemed to be rather pronounced.

The blonde - Lazarus - cracked his knuckles. “Sure.”

“We don’t want any troub-” Nyx broke off when the red-head moved quick, jabbing him in the gut and doubling him over like a ragdoll. Taking in a sharp, wheezing breath; Nyx could make out the sounds of Libertus scuffling with the other man behind him. Every other human in the area seemed to either be forming a ring around the spectacle or darting across the street and away from the conflict. Even the guards at the checkpoint didn’t even turn to look towards them.

Whoever these two were. No one wanted to fuck with them.

Nyx crumbled to the ground, holding his stomach as he leaned his forehead against the pavement. Over him, he heard the red-head taunting him, making jabbing remarks and calling him a ‘filthy shit’. Nyx pulled in a deep breath and moved to push himself up, catching sight of the shiny black shoe that was aimed for his side.

Others might not want to fuck with them, but Nyx wasn’t one of them.

Shooting a hand out, Nyx wrapped his fingers around the ankle of the oncoming foot. Rolling, he tugged and sent the red-headed man off balance, pulling him with him. With his other leg giving out and not able to balance him properly, the man went down like a sack of bricks. His head smacked against the pavement and he released a howl that could have given a banshee a run for its money. Nyx didn’t waste his time checking himself for injury. Fighting in the streets over food and the rights to a fishing spot meant taking the other kid out before they had a chance to take you out.

He struck fast, jamming the heel of his palm into the fallen man’s knee, making sure he struck it hard enough to dislocate it. Scrambling to his feet and ignoring the sharp pain that played across his stomach, Nyx dropped down so he was straddling the man, grabbing the front of his suit jacket and lifting him up off the ground so that he was almost sitting. A punch came in, aiming for his skull but he ducked down, letting the fist breeze over to top of his head; barely ruffling his hair. Then he brought his head back up, catching the redhead in the chin and snapping his jaw shut. The man’s head snapped back and Nyx felt him go limp.

Dropping him and turning to Libertus, he found his best friend standing over the one who’d been called Lazarus, glaring down at the unconscious man with a snarl on his face. There was a cut on his cheek, probably from one of the rings on the blonde’s hand. There were whispers and a few cheers going up around them even as they backed off away from the two men and made a speedy exit from the circle of people.

Grabbing their bags from where they’d been dropped, Nyx hurried Lib down a few blocks until they were out of sight of the group that had formed and away from their two attackers. Sitting him on the bench, he checked his cheek and pulled out some of the medical supplies he’d brought from home. “Busted your lip too,” he murmured and watched in amusement as Lib reached up and touched the split lip, cursing. “Some welcome wagon, eh?”

“Yeah really,” Lib murmured, flinching when Nyx applied some ointment to his cheek. “He didn’t scramble your guts around when he hit you did he?”

“Don’t think so.” He paused slightly when a shadow fell over them and he saw Lib’s eyes dart over his shoulder. Moving quick he pulled Libertus with him, kicking out with his foot to catch whoever had walked up on him in the shin. The bottom of his foot met the hard leather of a boot, and his retaliation to being snuck up on was greeted with a laugh.

“Easy boys, I’m not here to hurt you.” The voice was low and deep, like listening to gravel fall, or a large wave fold in on itself out in the ocean. When Nyx turned he was greeted with the image of a man that was far too tall to be human. He had to tilt his head back to even see him properly. Beside him, Libertus grabbed his arm to keep him from doing anything stupid, not that he would. He was rooted where he was. One punch from this man and it would likely kill them both.

He was tall and wide in the shoulder, carrying his stature like he was born to it. His brown hair was cut short, almost militant but his blue eyes were nothing but amused. He was clothed in what could only be the most ridiculous uniform Nyx had ever seen. Nothing but buttons, zippers and chains. It looked so formal and so regal he almost laughed.

“What do you want?” Libertus asked nervously, his accent falling back into place even as he tried his best to hide it.

The man standing there grinned at them, a show of teeth more than an actual smile. “I was curious to see if you boys were in ‘the business’ or not,” he stated simply.

Nyx stared at him confused and more than a little annoyed. They’d barely gotten into the damn city and they’d already been attacked and now they had some shady-ass old man asking if they were in a business? Nyx’s lip curled in disgust and he snorted. “Business? Like what? A circus clown like you?” he snarled back in contempt. He’d had enough of sneering Insomnian’s for the day. Beside him, Libertus squeezed his wrist so hard he heard it pop and turned his glare on his best friend.

The man didn’t find his snark offensive. He just laughed. “I like you kid, the two of you show promise.” He backed off a bit then held out a hand. “The name is Drautos, Titus Drautos.” He paused, waiting for them to shake, but when all he got was cautious stares, he dropped his hand. “I’m the Commander of a group known as The Glaives. We’re looking for new members all the time, and you two have spunk. Where are you from?”

Nyx and Lib exchanged glances. Nyx wasn’t feeling all that trusting, but Lib seemed to be relaxing a little. “Galahd,” they both said at the same time, turning their eyes back on Drautos.

That seemed to grab his interest.

“Looking for jobs?” When the two cautiously nodded, his grin grew. _“Then boys, I have a wonderful offer for you.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I typed out the time line for this as far as chapter 29. If I follow it, this thing is going to be an angsty fucking mess and I _love it_.  
> This is also most definitely going to be a slow _slow_ burn.


	3. What We Give to Those We Owe

# Second Hand Smoke

# What We Give to Those We Owe

Drautos cursed as he reached out to pull Amicitia down even as the stun grenade went off in a blaze of agonizing light and ear shattering sound. The last thing he’d been able to clearly see were the guns the other men were pulling from behind their backs before the flash went off, but with his eyes seared white and the ringing in his ears deafening, he couldn’t tell when they opened fire.

Pain and heat laced along his side as he moved, then something warm and slick followed, sliding down his ribs in a steady stream. A second bullet pierced his arm and Drautos wondered just how the hell they were going to get out of this cluster fuck alive. Some other sense, buried deep and only existing because of past experiences told him Nyx had done something stupid. It was a logical conclusion, he’d noticed the subtle shift in the boy’s stance, the way he’d squared his shoulders so he was just an inch closer to Regis.

Disobedient little shit.

Blinking hard to, hopefully, clear his eyes, Titus kept Clarus pinned under him even as the ringing dulled from his ears and he could make out the sound of a car hurrying away, spitting gravel from beneath its tires. “You alright, Clarus?” he grunted, squinting his eyes as he tried to see. He felt the body under his shift and moved to get off.

“I’ve been worse, I suppose,” the older man responded, then paused. “You’re bleeding.”

“Gunshot. I’m fine.” He paused when he saw Cor standing slowly, one hand pushing Regis against the ground even as he stood, the other clamped over his thigh and already coated in blood. They were going to need medical attention sooner than Insomnia, that was for sure. “Ulric, did you get hit-” He broke into a string of curses and struggled to his feet.

Nyx was curled on his side a few steps away from Regis and Cor with the man who’d dropped the frag grenade beside him. The man was dead, speared on Nyx’s blade and slumping forward. Titus assumed the spray of bullets that had missed them for the most part must have been a desperate attempt to kill them while the remaining men fled back to the car. He gave the dead man a shove with his foot, watching him fall over before dropping down beside Nyx, grinding his teeth. 

A tremble went through the boy’s body, a jerking motion that wasn’t natural. Turning him onto his back, Titus cursed again, snapping his hand back when an electrical charge came off the metal object planted firmly into the leather of Nyx’s breast plate. Drautos shifted the thing, seeing how badly embedded it was, and was rewarded with another shock. 

“What the hell is that?” Cor asked as he dropped beside him, peering down at the metal contraption. Titus had seen them enough to hate the damn things. It looked like a metal spider with a glowing blue light at its center. The legs of it were dug into the leather, probably just piercing skin but still enough to anchor it to Nyx’s chest. Each leg gave off a nasty shock, but the center of the thing was where the real punch came from.

Grabbing his blade, Drautos started cutting at the straps of Nyx’s armor, but the leather didn’t move when he tried to remove it. “It’s a stun core,” he growled through clenched teeth. “Niffs use them in their shock troopers. If you kill one, it goes off kind of like a bomb and electrocutes you.” He turned his blade and tried to wedge the flat of it under one of the metal legs and was rewarded with a nasty shock for his effort. Nyx’s body convulsed with it. “ _Fuck!_ Hold him still.”

Regis appeared instead of Cor, pushing Nyx’s shoulders against the ground. It would have to do, Cor was a bit busy stemming the flow of blood going down his thigh at the moment. Focusing, Drautos went about trying to dislodge the damn thing from Nyx’s armor before the steady stream of electrical currents it was feeding through the boy’s skin stopped his heart completely. Normally the device as he’d seen it used wouldn’t do that, but by pushing in front of the King and putting himself in the line of fire, the device had landed only a few inches shy of Nyx’s heart and had quickly embedded itself.

“These things are meant to incapacitate, but it hit him too high.” Cursing again, Drautos did the only thing he could think of and grabbed the top of the device and twisted. “God dammit Nyx, don’t you die from this piece of shit!”

Electricity rode up his arm in arcs, singeing hair and skin before the core in the center of the thing gave a groaning noise and then a ‘snap’. It sparked one more time before the light turned red and started beeping erratically. Shoving himself to his feet, Drautos took a step back and threw the core as hard as he could, watching it land out in the desert several feet away from them. The beeping grew more frantic before it turned into one long sound and then exploded. It wasn’t a large explosion, but it would have taken off some fingers if held in one’s hand. 

With the core and the energy source gone, Titus made quick work of pulling the bits of metal out of the leather, noting the scorch mark on it where the core had been sitting. That piece of leather was probably Nyx’s only saving grace. Snatching his glove off, he grabbed Nyx’s hand and felt around on the underside of his wrist for a pulse. It fluttered, faded, then skipped, but it was there.

Relief washed through Drautos like a cool river, snuffing out the fire of panic that had been building in his gut. It still smoldered, ready to flare back up at any moment because the boy still wasn’t in the clear, but it wouldn’t do for him to panic more. Not when he and Cor were both bleeding like stuck garula.

“There’s a medical office in Longwythe,” Cor said as Clarus walked up beside him incase he needed something to lean on. “I know the owner, he’ll help.”

Kneeling and moving to try and at least pull Nyx to his feet so he could haul him back to the Regalia, Drautos stopped when Regis appeared and carefully threw the unconscious man’s arm over his shoulders. When Titus just stared at the King questioningly, Caelum snorted.

“You’re too tall, Titus,” Regis remarked as he carefully tugged Nyx up a little higher and started towards the car. “The boy will break if you drop him from that height.”

Titus didn’t argue, following behind his patriarch in silence. The wound on his side was starting to scab over, he could feel the pull of it, but blood was still flowing down his arm and he wasn’t sure if trying to pick Nyx up was the brightest of ideas. He settled for letting the man be sprawled partly on him in the back seat, tucked between him and Cor while Clarus drove into Longwythe proper. The doctor Cor apparently knew had a shady looking store front and seemed to run his ‘medical office’ out of what used to be an old garage. The doctor was a scruffy man with slightly wild, black hair and a beard that needed trimming. As soon as Cor stepped out of the car, the man started fussing.

“Leonis, you could come by for tea once in a while instead of always showing up hurt. You godsdamn idiot!”

Pelna Khara, Cor introduced him to the group as they were ushered inside and to the back. He checked Nyx’s vitals first, though appeared satisfied enough with them because he moved to Cor to patch up his leg. Drautos was next, cursing loudly when Khara pulled out something similar to a long set of tweezers because of course the bullet hadn’t gone all the way through. He sat there with his jaw clenched hard, imagining every kind of horrible death the doctor could meet after removing the bullet.

After checking both Regis and Clarus over for any signs of injury, Khara moved back to the unconscious Nyx. Not really trusting the doctor, Drautos gave him the bare details of what had happened, describing the device just enough that Pelna knew what he was dealing with. He cut through the fabric of Nyx’s coat and undershirt with little care for the garment, revealing angry red lines that arched out from the central impact point on his chest. One line ran upwards, towards his shoulder while another ran down, towards his stomach. It looked like a spider web across his skin.

“Mhm, that’s gonna leave a pretty scar,” Khara murmured before getting what he needed to bandage him. “Lucky though, any closer and his heart would have been hammering so hard from the shock it might have exploded.” Pelna glanced at the group, made a fist with his hand then spread his fingers out. “ _’Pop!’_ Just like that.”

Cor made a face at the doctor. “Khara.” The doctor just grinned and went back to work on Nyx, who thankfully seemed content to remain passed out.

Silence descended over the room and Drautos wondered about the merits of trying to catch some sleep now or staying awake. If he caught some sleep now, while they waited for Nyx to actually wake up, he’d at least have enough energy to punch Nyx so the doctor could see about him before they headed back to Insomnia. Otherwise it was going to have to wait until he could get the younger man either on the training field or in his office to officially reprimand him. Desk duty for a few weeks sounded good. He could force him to rewrite all of Tredd’s reports. The man’s handwriting was reminiscent of a five-year-olds.

“Titus.”

Drautos’ head snapped up from where it had fallen forward onto his chest. Blinking and realizing he’d almost dozed off in the chair, he turned to look at who’d called him. Caelum and Amicitia were standing at the doorway, watching him with such somber expressions he wondered if he’d done something truly wrong. Eyes narrowed, Titus carefully extracted himself from the chair and moved towards the door. When Cor moved to follow, Regis waved him back into his seat. That earned him a curious glance from the Immortal, but the man said nothing as the door clicked close.

“Yes, sir?” He tried to keep the edge out of his voice, but he wasn’t sure why this little meeting was happening in the hallway of a shady-as-fuck doctor’s office.

Regis and Clarus shared a look before Clarus spoke. “The boy, Nyx. Did I hear you correctly when you called him Ulric?”

Now Drautos was on edge. His eyes narrowed as he thought back. Had he called him Ulric? He had. An old habit he had been trying to break himself of. His lip curled slightly at his own stupidity, but he quickly hid it. “I did. Yes, sir.” He could lie at this point. There had to be others with the same surname, right?

Sure there were.

But they weren’t Galahdian.

“Thormod had a son, didn’t he?” Regis asked, though the question was directed at Clarus as well. “I don’t remember him saying his name, but I remember him talking about him.”

“Might not be the same boy, Regis.”

“Ulric is not an uncommon name, even in Galahd,” Titus offered up even as Clarus offered him another route of escape. “And Thormod never spoke of a daughter. Nyx has a little sister.”

Regis shared another look with Clarus, one Titus couldn’t decipher before they changed the subject. “I’m going to call the Citadel,” Regis announced. “I want someone to look into the information Dustin acquired and see if they can find the source. We need to locate Dustin as well. Hopefully he hasn’t been hurt.”

“Do you think it was Niffs?” Clarus murmured, frowning. “Drautos said that device that struck Nyx is usually used to incapacitate.” 

Titus frowned. “If they were looking for ways to kidnap Regis, I doubt they would have allowed him four others with him. Two guards and a middle man.They would have known you would bring three fighters… And I know you, sir,” he murmured, directing his gaze to Clarus. “Even if it had just been the two of you, you probably could have taken out all four of them.”

The corner of Amicitia’s mouth quirked upwards. “Thank you for the vote of confidence, Titus; I think, however, that it may have been in their plans to either capture both of us, or hope that once they had Regis we would comply. The Niffs have gotten careless recently. I think they are trying to earn back some credit after Leonis broke into their base and killed one of their Generals.” He paused thoughtfully before turning to Caelum. “We might want to talk to Monica as well,” he pointed out. “I know we usually ask her for legal advice, but she tends to have a keener eye for information than we do.”

Regis snorted. “We need to look into getting more information brokers,” he grumbled as the two made their way down the hallway to make their calls in private.

Drautos sighed and shoved his fingers through his hair, looking up at the ceiling. Making his way back into the room, he found Cor rising and held the door for him. “They are down the hall,” he murmured as the man paused in his movements. “Making phone calls, nothing major. I’ll sit with Nyx.”

Cor seemed to consider the offer then shrugged, making his way out of the door with what Drautos’ noticed was only a slight limp. No one would even be able to tell the man had been shot by the time they returned to Insomnia, and he silently wondered if Leonis really would live up to his nickname. “Don’t,” he told the still unconscious figure of Nyx as he sat in Cor’s vacated seat. “Go trying to steal Leonis’ title. I don’t think you’re up for it, kid.”

Because Cor Leonis was a monster when the King gave him leave to do as he pleased. He might come back mangled and bloody, but he _always_ came back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So kind of a challenge for myself, which may result in a weird off-shoot of any one of these stories but question for you guys.
> 
> What's something you've always wanted to see happen in the fandom (CorNyx centralized but any pairing is open), but either haven't seen or haven't seen a lot of? IE: a certain situation, anything like that. (Honestly I have a chaptered story idea that I'm holding off on until I finish something lol). I'm thinking of adding it to current stuff or just making oneshots because I want to keep from getting writer's block (which lasts for months/years for me).
> 
> Non-registered members can comment so feel free to make it an 'anonymous' comment if you want, lmao. I'm just curious to see what people want (and if I can actually do it).


	4. Kill Me With Words

# Second-Hand Smoke

# Kill Me With Words

Nyx’s first waking thought was of getting Caelum out of the line of fire because the device had very clearly been aimed at him. His second thought was that whoever had punched him so hard in the chest had better hope he died before he found them because he was going to make them _hurt_. The fact that he was vertical also threw him off. Why was he laying down? Why was the ground soft?

He sat bolt upright.

There was a lot of cursing that followed the sudden movement, namely from Drautos who’d apparently dozed off in the chair across from the bed he was sitting in. The machine beside him was making some loud noises because evidently, he’d snatched the monitor off his hand. He glanced down at it in annoyance.

“Did you make this much godsdamn noise when you were born?” Drautos bitched as he reached over and hit a button. Immediately the machine turned off and silence fell in the room. “Because you are working on trying to go out with a bang, quite literally.”

Nyx eyed his commander, wondering just how pissed he was because the first response rolling around on his tongue was snarky. “Mom told me I was born during one of the worst storms Galahd had experienced in a few hundred years.” He paused thoughtfully. “A volcano erupted the night Selena was born.”

“Natural disasters, both of you,” Titus sighed, then squared his shoulders to glare down at him. A lecture was coming. Nyx squinted his eyes slightly and tried to decide if he should run or sit there for the verbal beating he was about to get. “What,” Drautos started, the frown on his face deepening. “Was the first godsdamn thing I told you.” When Nyx didn’t answer, Titus took a step back to put himself out of arm's length of the younger man because he was going to _strangle him_. “ _Nyx._ ”

“That I was going to be holding the case.”

Drautos pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. “We are at a doctor’s office. I _will_ punch you.”

“You told me not to do anything stupid,” Nyx relented because when pissed, Titus would actually lash out. “But,” he continued quickly when the commander opened his mouth to continue berating him. “I was closest to him and I wasn’t sure what that thing was going to do. Better me than him.” He paused, becoming mildly aware that there was at least one other person in the room and cleared his throat. “Sir.”

“Drautos,” the other voice said from the doorway and Nyx turned to look over. The other man who had been with them during the deal, Cor Leonis, was standing there, arms crossed over his chest. “He is right,” he continued, his voice holding an odd sort of impassivity that made Nyx feel cold on the inside. Dead almost. “The Glaives are here to shield and protect, remember? He was doing his job.”

“His _job_ ,” Titus hissed at him like a feral coeurl. “Was to hold the money case and hand it over after Regis agreed with the deal. _You_ , Leonis, were supposed to be his fucking bodyguard.”

Cor, Nyx noticed, wasn’t as tall as Drautos but was still able to look down his nose at the older man with such severity Nyx was getting worried. That much anger in a room could start a fire. Or an explosion. He didn’t want to be near either.

“It was just a snap reaction,” Nyx said quickly, gaining both sets of eyes back on his person. He flinched under the scrutiny. “Sir.” He tried not to squirm, failed and took a breath, meeting Drauto’s angry gaze. “I didn’t even really think about it, Commander. It just happened. I didn’t even think ‘hey, I might die’ or ‘hey, this could hurt’. I didn’t think at all. I just moved.”

Drautos sighed because even all the training in the world wouldn’t beat Nyx’s way of thinking out of him. He’d been like that since the day he and Ostium had joined the Caelum Family under his guidance. “Next time, remember your little sister,” Drautos griped, growling softly. “You’re not the only one your paycheck feeds, remember? I’ve heard enough about that little girl to know she’d be in Insomnia in less than two days ready to tan my hide and slit my throat.”

Nyx knew what he was doing, Titus was trying to back him into a corner. Remind him of the little sister he cared for. Nyx wouldn’t be cowed though. Not on this. “Lib helps out too,” he reminded his commander. Drautos didn’t know about Crowe, but from the last letter they’d gotten from the girls, Crowe had found work at a local bar and was making money herself. What they added to the pot was helping. “The only thing you’d have to worry about is if Libertus tells her where you are.” He gave his commander a crooked grin, trying to lighten the mood.

It didn’t work, and Drautos rolled his eyes in exasperation. “I’m going to tell the other two you’re up.” He turned and brushed past Cor, cutting the man a glare from the corner of his eye as he passed.

Cor didn’t say anything, though his lip twitched slightly as if he’d suppressed a snarl. An interesting dynamic between those two. Like male coeurl fighting over territory during mating season. A fight between those two would probably be just as bloody.

“Good to see everyone gets along so well.” It was meant to be a thought, but the filter on Nyx’s mouth seemed to be broken and his words had Cor’s icy gaze landing on him. “Such camaraderie.” He needed to shut up. “Makes me feel right at home.”

“I believe the word you are looking for is ‘hostility’,” Cor pointed out, not the least bit amused.

Nyx snorted. “Ever been to Galahd?”

“No.”

Nyx’s smile was all teeth and no humor. “Then you wouldn’t understand.”

* * *

Regis drove because Nyx was still having weird little muscle spasms. He was gifted with the passenger seat and what Regis referred to as an ‘elixir’. It was green and tasted like rotten seaweed, but Regis, as well as Drautos, claimed the thing would help him be a little bit more himself before they reached home.

Clarus sat in the back between Cor and Drautos. They hadn’t said anything, but Clarus was obviously acting as a ‘shield’ in more ways than one. Titus had taken the backseat behind him and whenever Nyx glanced in the rearview mirror, he could see his commander peering out across the landscape as it sped by. Cor had his nose buried in a book and Clarus seemed content to just stare straight ahead.

Caelum however, was a weird ball of energy. He fidgeted, played with a button on his jacket, even dug around in the cupholder. Nyx thought he was going to lose his mind when the man found a pen and started clicking it. The Patriarch needed a distraction, one Nyx was willing to give him.

“How many of the royal arms are there left for you to gather, if you don’t mind me asking?” Nyx murmured, gaining Regis’ attention. “Drautos said there were as many as there have been patriarchs.”

“One-hundred and twelve, yes,” Regis explained, happily grabbing ahold of a topic to end the silence in the car. “I currently have one-hundred and five, this would have made it six.” He frowned slightly at a stray thought, rubbing his chin. “Dustin, the man who was looking into it for me, was given bad information… Luckily they didn’t hurt him, simply diverted him and then set the meeting up through another source. I’ll know better next time.”

“If there’s a next time,” Clarus huffed from the back. “I think perhaps from now on we should approach this cautiously.”

Regis turned and made a face at Clarus that nearly made Nyx laugh. The man, despite all the whispering about him being harsh or even cruel, was quite childish.

“I could go in disguise, dye my hair and wear different clothes. I’m sure I could get away with it,” Regis stated as he turned back in his seat. “They wouldn’t know it was me.”

“Sounds like you’re going through your rebellious stage,” Nyx remarked, earning a crooked grin from Regis and a snort from Clarus.

“His entire life has been a rebellious stage.”

Nyx didn’t miss the middle finger Regis directed at Amicitia.

These men, including Drautos and Cor, had known each other for a long time. He felt like a literal fifth wheel being part of their conversation. It was strange and he felt so out of place, he let his voice recede into the background. Or he tried to.

“It’s rare I get to travel with any of the Glaives,” Regis said after a few minutes of silence. “Usually they go out on missions, make reports to Drautos or Clarus and I get all the information third-hand.” He frowned. “It's exceptionally boring. I rarely leave the city.”

“After yesterday, I can see why,” Nyx murmured and laughed softly when Caelum’s frown was redirected at him. “Sorry, sir.”

Regis shrugged. “I suppose you have the right of it. I would like to travel a bit more,” he admitted. “You’re from Galahd, correct? What is it like there?”

Nyx frowned, not because of the question, it was innocent enough; but because the man didn’t seem to know anything about the surrounding area. Most of his military force came from Galahd after all. “It isn’t…” Nyx fought for the right words, but couldn’t find them. “It isn’t someplace people willingly visit,” he murmured after a moment. The forests were lush and green, but the fields the farmers worked were no longer fertile. Dust had claimed most of them, drought had claimed the rest. Fish were scarce, and anyone who braved the wilderness to try and find food or new land to settle simply never came back.

Galahd had turned on her people at some point, cursed them - or so many believed.

“I’ve heard a few… stories, I suppose,” Regis said as he slowed at a stop sign. “I was never sure which ones were true. It almost sounds like the island is facing civil war.”

Nyx laughed because it was almost true. “If they could muster the strength or the willingness to fight each other, I suppose they would. Most of the fighting is over food.” He paused, feeling a slight pang of embarrassment. “The land is beautiful, if unkind. I used to sit on the roof of our house and watch a pride of coeurl that lived out in the jungle. Selena named them all.” The memory was a fond one, and he used it to change the subject. “She named the alpha Daithi and one of his kittens Neala.”

“Selena is your sister?”

“Yes, sir.”

Rain started to fall, hitting the windshield in fat droplets. Regis flicked a switch on the console, turning on the lights as well as the wipers. No sooner had they made their first sweep than the bottom of the clouds that had gathered seemed to open up, releasing a deluge of water onto the road.

“How old is she?” Another seemingly innocent question.

“Thirteen.”

“Hm, she must be at home with your parents?”

Nyx’s mouth snapped closed, his teeth clicking. He focused his attention out the passenger window instead, not all that keen on discussing his family with Regis anymore. He knew little to nothing about his parents, just that his father was very much dead and his mother had abandoned them to the mercy of Galahd to go sink to the depths of the sea.

When Nyx didn’t answer, Regis changed tactics. “Another relative perhaps? Surely you didn’t leave a thirteen-year-old alone.”

“She’s with a friend.” Nyx tried to keep the slight strain out of his voice. No one knew about Crowe, he planned on keeping it that way. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust anyone within the Family, it was just that Libertus and he had always agreed that Crowe was a taboo to talk about amongst the others. She didn’t know who she was, and they’d never found out anything else about her or about a missing girl named Crowe. “I send money home to help them.”

Regis accepted the explanation and laid off the questions, peering out of his window again as the rain continued to fall.

They didn’t even have to stop at the checkpoints leading into the city. The guards took one look at Regis sitting in the driver’s seat and waved him through. “You’re better than any ID,” he joked, earning a weary smile from Caelum. “Though, you might want to tighten security if the Niffs are trying to kidnap you. Though I suppose as long as your bodyguard is there to shove you out of any danger, you’ll be ok.” There was a snort from the back seat but Nyx didn’t look to see who it was.

“Applying for a job, Ulric?” Regis asked though he didn’t look at him, staring straight out the windshield instead. Nyx couldn’t tell by his tone if he was being serious or not. The weight of Drautos’ stare on the back of his head said Caelum might be.

“It would be an honor, sir; but no.” This time he kept his eyes straight ahead, watching as the car was carefully pulled into the garage that was built under the Citadel. “I think I’d make a lousy guard anyway. I know I stepped up to defend you, but Cor already had you on the ground by the time that thing struck me. Honestly, I think I probably caused more trouble than I stopped.”

As the car was parked Nyx was keenly aware of the eyes watching him but kept his mouth closed. Exiting the car quickly, Nyx took a deep breath because it had suddenly become suffocating inside the vehicle. Cor got out next, popping the handle on the driver’s door to allow Regis out. Nyx did the same with the other, allowing Drautos and Clarus out. The commander lingered by the car as the other three men headed into the building, Nyx staying behind with him if only because it seemed to be the correct course of action. Regis slid them both a glance but didn’t say anything as Cor lead them through the double doors towards the elevators.

When they were gone, Drautos turned to him. “My office, Ulric.”

Nyx flinched as the commander marched off. That was his ‘you’re getting all the bad assignments’ voice. Like ‘filing Tredd’s horribly written paperwork’ bad. Or training with Luche bad. “Yes, sir…”

At least the ‘elixir’ seemed to be working in his favor.


End file.
